Excision Presents: Nexus Tour - Night 1 at The Armory
Excision Presents: Nexus Tour - Night 1 at The Armory
The Armory/Minneapolis/MN/USA
It was the first night of the Excision Presents: Nexus Tour at The Armory, one of our favorite venues. The doors opened at 8, and I couldn't help but feel anxious this week as I messaged Suzie to make plans for the show. I knew she had been worried about her missing cat. In the meantime, I found myself entertained by the neighborhood animal fight club that Suzie's garage camera had captured. The showdown between a Siamese cat and a possum was like journalistic click bait in real life.
After bidding farewell to the kids and a four-hour drive, yet again with Gorilla Pimp and Louie Fontana+2 in our posse, we finally arrived at The Armory just after 8. We headed to the VIP East entrance, where our host checked us in and led us to our VIP platform booth, E211. We were assigned a server who took our orders. To meet the bar minimum and pace ourselves for the night, we decided to order a bottle of Patron Silver for the group. The Armory always knows how to do it right, and soon our table was adorned with our bottle of Patron, along with orange, pineapple, and cranberry juice.
With our drinks in hand, we were ready to enjoy the music. The night kicked off with Emorfik + Alienpark, who blasted out some out-of-this-world tunes.
Alienpark, a dubstep artist from Venezuela, has made waves in the bass scene with his hard-hitting originals and fresh flows. Supported by renowned artists like Excision and Illenium, Alienpark has proven to be an inspiration to many.
Emorfik, also known as Damiano Cortini, took the stage next. At just 14 years old, Emorfik started making a name for himself as an energetic DJ with a unique stage presence. His brand, "Angry Shit Only," has gained a dedicated following, and his creativity and talent continue to push the boundaries of electronic music.
Next up was Layz, a dubstep artist from the United States. Known for her heavy, new age sound, Layz has quickly become a fan favorite in the bass community. She has toured with Excision, Kayzo, Sullivan King, and more, and her music has been featured on labels like Monstercat and Subsidia. Layz set was made extra special by getting to share it with some close Shorefest homies! I was instantly glad that I already grabbed a Layz jersey for my boy Jeremy Mercier before her set even started because we have an inside joke from the Netflix original “Disjointed” about Lays chips. Her set being hotter than flaming hot Cheetos just made it all the better!
To read more on Shorefest visit this article!
Ray Volpe, the American electronic music producer and DJ, took the stage after Layz. We were excited to see him perform for the fourth time, and it was our second time seeing him at The Armory. Ray Volpe is known for his versatility, fusing multiple electronic sub-genres and signature vocal trap sounds. He has remixed popular songs and gained support from artists like Dillon Francis and Porter Robinson.
To read more Ray Volpe Articles check these out…
Lost Lands 2023
I had to make a pit stop to take the newbies Louie Fontana brought along to the roof! I let Peter know when bass heavy headliners play you can stand against the brick wall on the roof and it feels like the entire thing is wobbling. Your mind silently reminding you it’s a brick wall and it’s solid. It shouldn’t quite feel like this.
ATLiens, another highly anticipated act, followed Ray Volpe. Known for their unique sound, ATLiens has a dedicated fan base. Their performance and choice in lineup was a tough choice for me. As I had enjoyed Ray Volpe's set so much. I couldn't help but think it would have been interesting to have them do a back-to-back set and let the crowd decide who performed a better first show of the tour, creating a special start to the tour. Similar to how BTSM and Kai Wachi had the Skull Machine project on one show only on their previous tour. I did thoroughly enjoy when he decided to annihilate Armin Van Buuren’s Blah Blah Blah, letting the music take me back to the Armin Van Buuren show I also enjoyed here at The Armory with Van Sank as he introduced us to Space Jesus in the Penthouse Suite. As a reptile enthusiast I also thoroughly enjoyed the serpent visuals used by ATLiens.
Finally, it was time for Excision, the main act of the night. I had dressed up in anticipation of hoping he included his 3D Shrek-themed set, wearing my custom Rave Shrek tank, pink Excision jersey, t-rex amber necklace, and Dragonball bucket hat. The hat of course in honor of Akira Toriyama taking his journey down the snake road this week.
We have seen Excision perform multiple times before, and he never disappointed. His shows are a sensory overload, with massive bass, mind-blowing lasers, and immersive visuals. Visuals which started out with his X being laser cut out of metal and then progressed to a plethora of various visuals, each one distinctively different from the last.
I would love to get some one-on-one time with Excision and pick his brain about this tour. I would like to know what his inspirations and goals were for this tour/project.
The entire show was very aesthetically pleasing but I couldn’t find a solid foundation. There was no theme and no story being told. It was good song after good song don’t get me wrong. But it wasn’t what I have come to expect from Excision. I fell in love with Excision and especially Lost Lands because of his ability to tell a story and hold a theme. I get if he doesn’t wanna do just dinosaurs or robots. I however love his storytelling ability and I feel like this tour fell short on that aspect. I really enjoyed his gangsters paradise rendition, a nice homage too Coolio. It temporarily transported me back to my grandmas basement bumping gangsters paradise with my uncles. I loved that he played some of the old crowd favorites like Feel Something with I Prevail and Illenium, but he used the same visuals for it as we have seen before. Sadly I didn’t get to see Shrek.
Excision, also known as Jeff Abel, is a pioneer of the North American Dubstep scene. He has been touring for over 17 years, cultivating a passionate community of fans worldwide. In addition to his music career, Excision is the creator of popular music festivals like Lost Lands and Bass Canyon.
The entire show was a solid experience from start to finish. The music built up perfectly, and the sound engineers did an excellent job. Ray Volpe's set was particularly memorable, and Excision's performance was as epic as ever minus his usual storytelling prowess. It almost feels like it was his own private NFL Combine. No story but he hit us with everything he was capable of. He showed so many different sides of himself and a beautiful variance in the different genres he is able to incorporate into his style. As the night came to an end, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the incredible lineup of artists and the unforgettable experience at The Armory.
To read on more Excision shows check these articles out…
